Description
Based upon the readings and assignments throughout this course, select ONE priority policy or advocacy issue in the long-term care industry that needs prompt attention, study, and resources in the coming year. Support and evidence for your selected issue may be found at the AARP site, AHRQ's site, the NCOA site, or other industry or older and/or disability advocacy groups.
Prepare a 6-8 page paper defining the issue/need for advocacy with supporting evidence and data as well as a detailed plan of action and role for long term care leadership.
Outline for your paper:
- (10 points) Identification of the critical policy issue OR advocacy issue with supporting data and evidence that is of concern in the long-term care industry(could be quality of life, medication safety, workforce development in long term care, caregiver support, quality data management, etc.)
- (10 points) Recommendations and detailed plan of action
- (7 points) Resources for support (financial, organizational, legislators, etc.)
- (10 points)Role of long-term care leadership for this policy issue OR advocacy issue
- (5 points) Conclusion
Points Possible: 50
42 points Content as indicated above
8 points Utilization of writing guidelines - LEVEL 3
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Explanation & Answer

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Long Term Care
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As people get old, their cognitive and functional abilities may decline, and they may be
unable to bathe, feed themselves, manage medication, and make rational decisions (McCall, n.d).
In this case, older people can receive support in long-term care facilities where their needs are
met. The services and programs that make up long-term care (LTC) have developed over time
and will continue to change due to the ongoing demographic changes in the US. For instance, the
rising number of the aging population means that long-term care services will be in high demand
in the future. The National Council on Aging provides that the number of older people is
growing faster, with an estimation that people 65 years and above will be over 22% of the US
population (NCOA, 2021). This is due to higher life expectancy levels associated with increased
access to healthcare. The demographic shift raises concern since as the number of elderly people
rises, chronic illnesses increase. For instance, about 80% of older people above 65 have a chronic
disease (Baughman, 2018). This means increased pain, functional or cognitive impairment, and a
rise in demand for LTC. This paper will discuss the LTC nursing shortage issue and
recommendations to address the problem.
Critical Policy/Advocacy Issue
Currently, Americans have high life expectancy levels, which means they live longer
lives. In this case, the demand for healthcare services is expected to increase, given that there
will be over 69 million older people by the end of 2030, representing a percentage above 20%
(Flaherty & Bartels, 2019). The increase in the aging population means that about two in three
people will be living with one or more chronic conditions. Although the demand for nursing
professionals, especially geriatric nurses, will be high, the supply of nursing professionals will
simultaneously reduce. Data shows that about 52% of people above 65 will require long-term
care at some point in life (Flaherty & Bartels, 2019). However, the critical advocacy issue is that
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there is a shortage of knowledgeable and skilled nursing professionals to provide patients with
various needs of effective and appropriate care. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the
demand for nurses would soar by over30 % by 2030 (Kwak & Polivka, 2014).
The staffing shortage in the nursing workforce means that the demand will exceed the
supply for qualified nursing professionals. This means that there will be a shortage of providers
in LTC facilities for the older population and those who need the services in the future. The
report regarding caregiver support ratio shows that the potential caregivers' ratio in 2010 was 7:1
and is expected to be 4:1 by 2030, with numbers expected to rise (Kwak & Polivka, 2014). The
reason for the nurse shortage e is due to the changing demographics where older nurses continue
to retire in large resulting in job vacancies. For instance, more than 1.1 million baby boomer
nurses are expected to retire in the next two decades, which creates the need to train more nurses
to replace them. The shortage is being felt in different states since there are no new nurses
qualified to fill the positions for elderly caregivers. The other factors contributing to the shortage
are poor working conditions and lower wages/pay for elderly care workers than those in the
acute care setting, making the geriatric nursing field less attractive, resulting in a shortage. Also,
employee turnover is a common phenomenon in long-term care settings, leading to inadequate
staff levels. This means that patients in long-term care may fail to receive quality care as they are
not given the attention they deserve.
Recommendations and Plan of Action
There is a need to...
